


Sweet Dreams

by Btw Where The Hell Are We (GrumpDerpShipping)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 02:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18327068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpDerpShipping/pseuds/Btw%20Where%20The%20Hell%20Are%20We
Summary: Curtis's first encounter with Shiro's sleep troubles.





	Sweet Dreams

It didn’t happen often. After the war, Shiro’s restless nights were anything but common. He was no longer wandering the ship during night cycles or staying up with work far past when he should in the hopes the exhaustion would keep his mind from bringing up bad times. Because it had been some time since his last midnight episode he didn’t think anything of spending the night with his new boyfriend, Curtis.

After months of longing looks across the Atlas bridge, and Shiro catching said looks, he finally found a good time to ask him out. The Atlas had been grounded for a few weeks of maintenance and at this point, he was content to get to the point and ask to go out to dinner. He’d caught the smitten communications officer completely off guard but he was eager to agree. It had been a bit over a month since then.

Since the Atlas had to be checked top to bottom for issues or damages, their work hours were slightly cut since they could only help so much with the repairs with neither of them being engineers. They didn’t complain though. The lack of long nights and ability to go out into the nearby city left them both practically giddy for nights out for dinner, movies, or just nights wandering the rebuilt streets and parks. They took full advantage of the time to themselves and each date seemed more enjoyable than the last as they learned more about their pasts and little quirks. Although Shiro’s time in space was a clearly avoided topic. As a result, Curtis didn’t know what he went through and left it at whatever information he’d hear from the paladins in passing.

After another night out for dinner, Curtis offered to take him back to his own place. He had a small apartment that served as a cheap getaway from work on his days off. He had as many movies as he could salvage from the war, most of which were dumb action flicks and romcoms, all things that Shiro was more than a bit intrigued by. After another half hour, they’d picked up a few snacks and walked up to the building.

The apartment wasn’t much of a sight, simple and slightly under furnished since he wasn’t around often. But it was well kept and cozy. The kind of place that Shiro wouldn’t mind visiting again, if not just for the privacy compared to the Garrison and Atlas. The lack of nosey young officers barging in to give him reports on his off hours was a welcomed change.

Curtis led him to the bedroom, a small tv was perched on top of the tall dresser with stacks of DVDs beside an old disk player. Curtis leapt onto the neatly made bed with a soft thump and gestured for Shiro to join him. “You sure? I don’t wanna get crumbs in your bed.” Shiro smiled as he sat down beside him, their bag of snacks in his hands.

“Don’t worry about it. I can clean it up later. It’s worth a few crumbs to be able to watch movies in bed.”

Shiro chuckled and gave in, setting up the bags of chips and popcorn between them while Curtis sat up and picked through the movie options. Shiro let out a soft sigh as he sunk into the bedding, only responding to Curtis’s questions about which movie to play with soft hums as he relaxed. Curtis smiled at him and joined him after putting in the disk, happy to see his usually serious or stressed captain and boyfriend slump against the pillow, nearly half asleep already.

He tugged the blankets out from under him and curled up underneath them. Shiro slipped his arm underneath the curve of Curtis’s back, his floating metal hand gently grasping his chin and turning his head to give him a brief kiss on the cheek. Curtis felt his cheeks flush but smiled as Shiro settled down to spoon him, both of their heads turned at a slightly awkward angle to watch the movie.

By the time the movie ended it was nearing 1 am. Both of them had fallen asleep, Curtis resting his head on Shiro’s arm as he lied on his back. A crash drew Curtis from his sleep, the room drenched in darkness thanks to the tv automatically turning off when not in use. He sat up and surveyed the room as best he could, eventually getting up to investigate the noise. A crunch under his foot quickly solved the mystery and with a sigh of dismay, he wiped the salty corn chip crumbs off the bottom of his foot. One of them must have kicked the bag off the bed in their sleep.

He turned back to the bed when Shiro groaned and shifted a little. “Sorry, did I wake you?” Curtis spoke softly.

A hitched whine broke from Shiro’s lips, his fingers twitching against the bed sheets. “N-no...no don’t!”

Curtis frowned in confusion and turned on the bedside lamp, Shiro’s prosthetic forearm laying beside it, still powered down. Shiro kicked his leg as he shifted and murmured, the restraint of the blanket tangling his legs in the sheets. “Shiro?”

“Please, d-don't… stay back!” he continued to thrash, eyebrows knit together and his eyes still closed. His chest heaved in uneven breaths that broke the air as hoarse, desperate whines.

In his panic, Curtis threw his hands to Shiro's broad shoulders. “Shiro! Shiro, wake up.” He shook Shiro's shoulders, trying to move him enough to wrench him out of whatever horrible nightmare he was trapped in. Shiro let out a short cry in response as he was jostled.

“Shiro, come on, wake u-hhgk!” before he could fully process Shiro's eyes flying open, a large hand wrapped tight around his throat. Shiro’s eyes were wild and unfocused as he panted heavily, the arm on the bedside table flickered but could not turn on fully due to Shiro’s disheveled mental state. Curtis’s cry of pain barely reached his mouth as Shiro's grip tightened on his neck.

His small hands grabbed at the fingers gripping his throat, trying to pry them off as his lungs burned for air. As Shiro’s breath began to even out, he finally managed to process the sight before him. Curtis struggling to get free of his iron grip as he lost dangerous amounts of air. Shiro choked out his name in shock and immediately let go. Curtis pushed himself away on instinct before falling to the floor, violent coughs spilling out as he gasped for air.

When he finally looked up from the floor Shiro was still on the bed, curled up tight in a fetal position. His arm had come online and joined Shiro’s body, both of his hands gripping tight at his pant legs as he trembled. Curtis got to his feet and slowly paced across the room to the other side of the bed. He sat beside Shiro, admittedly hesitant to touch him again, but pressing past that fear to gently rest his hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Shiro..?” He flinched but pulled his face away from his knees at the sound of his name.

It was the eyes that hurt the most to see. Those same eyes that displayed so much determination on the battlefield, so much strength and authority on the Atlas, and so much love and devotion every moment they were together. Now the facade had been hit in just the right spot to shatter, letting Curtis peer through the cracks and see what he hid from other people, including himself. He was scared, for a lot of things. Scared the war wasn't over, scared he would never be able to have a normal life, and scared of this very thing. He hurt someone he loved, all over his damned past that he just wished would stop being so lou-!

“Takashi…” and that was the final nail in the coffin he should have been buried in years ago. The soft, worried tone of Curtis's voice was all it took. It was a genuine shock to Curtis when Shiro started to cry. The thought of this man with tears quivering at the corners of his eyes was never something that struck him as possible. Shiro raised his head fully, staring off at the wall. He knew how he looked. He was embarrassed beyond belief that he looked so pitiful. Still, he tried to cling to the shattered pieces of his strength.

“C-Curtis I...I'm s-so...so sorry…” he choked his words out through a tight throat, trying not to sniffle or hiccup between words and failing on all accounts. Curtis sat patiently, not wanting to shove himself recklessly into Shiro's boundaries again. The hand on his shoulder remained firm, his thumb rubbing in gentle strokes as his body trembled. Shiro silently thanked the lack of an overbearing hug. He couldn't fully process much more contact at the moment.

“Takashi, it's okay. I'm sorry for scaring you like that… I didn't know I just...I just wanted to get you out of there…” Shiro wanted to smile at that but his lips trembled too much to even attempt.

Curtis briefly turned away from Shiro to grab a box of tissues beside the bed, keeping them in his lap so Shiro knew they were there. “Shiro...look at me…” Shiro debated this, the fear of being vulnerable in front of another making him hesitate. This situation was bad enough, he couldn't look Curtis in the eye. Curtis gave a quiet sigh of dismay when Shiro dropped his head into his legs again. He leaned back, giving the man some space before trying again.

“Shiro, baby, can you look at me..?” The softer approach caught his attention. Shiro slowly raised his head, tears dripping off his jaw by this point. “I'm okay, see? Not even a scratch…” he couldn't say for sure whether or not there were still marks on his neck. He prayed there weren't. “You didn't hurt me. You're not a monster, you never were…” He knew very little about Shiro's past as a slave but his vague spitballing seemed to be dead on.

Shiro opened his mouth to speak, to deny Curtis's words, but he couldn't. It was easy to tell himself off but the sheer passion in Curtis's voice wasn't something he could simply cast aside. “I love you, Takashi…” Shiro parted his dry lips, there were so many things he could say about how Curtis made him feel. He was a safety blanket, someone so gentle and understanding that he couldn't see him as a threat. He was to the point, funny, charming. His admiration knew no bounds for this man.

He had all these feelings but sometimes the simple answer was best. “I-I love you too…” it was barely a murmur but Curtis heard him clear as day. He smiled softly and returned his hand to Shiro's shoulder, his other hand offering a tissue.

“Are you okay..?”

“I'll be fine…” Shiro sniffled and dried his eyes, his prosthetic floating to the nearest wastebasket to dispose of the tissues. The movement of the arm was shaky but he was improving.

Curtis sighed under his breath, grateful that he was more responsive now. “Need a hug?” Shiro hummed in confirmation after a quiet moment and started to lean his weight on Curtis. Curtis laid down on his side, letting Shiro wrap his arms around him. He tucked his right arm between their chests and kept his left arm on Shiro's hip, his hand rubbing up and down the small of his back. Shiro's large arms practically smothered him, but in a good way. The warmth of his body and the sound of his gradually calming heartbeat was soothing, a silent vow that things would be okay.

“'m sorry I woke you…” Shiro's body began to sag with fatigue.

Curtis looked up at him with a soft smile. “No more apologies...you didn't do anything wrong…” Shiro's pulse quickened a bit under his hand. In the fearful thought of him relapsing, Curtis didn't even notice Shiro close the gap between them. Curtis's face flushed as Shiro kissed him, heat flowing all the way to his ears as he returned it with a soft hum. The kiss was soft but not chaste, passionate but not dirty. The two men just let themselves melt into each other, releasing the tension both had held for far too long.

Shiro eventually broke the kiss, still not pulling away more than a few inches, just enough to see his face. Curtis smiled warmly at Shiro, his hand moving from his hip to cup his strong jaw. “Guess you stole my breath in more ways than one tonight…” Curtis bit his lip, the words had spilled out before his brain could stop them from running right past the common fucking sense scanner. Shiro lips twisted in an odd expression before a soft giggle slipped out. He really thought that sick joke was funny?!

He sighed and pulled Curtis closer, neck stretching to rest his chin on Curtis's head. “Hey, what time is it..?”

Curtis hummed in thought as he adjusted his position. “2:30-ish?”

“AM? Crap, I'm sorry…”

Curtis smiled softly and threw the blankets over top of them again. “What did I say? No apologies, I'll stay up the rest of the night for you if you need it…” Curtis yawned as he spoke, he meant what he said but he was still exhausted.

“I'll be okay...you try to sleep. I just need the light on a little longer…”

Curtis hummed in understanding and buried his face in his pillow to block out the light. “Sweet dreams, Takashi…” yeah, his filter had to be broken. Despite that Shiro kept his arms around him, sighing softly into his hair.

“I will, as long as I have you…”


End file.
